Annie's volunteer story

Annie has been both a volunteer and staff member at Pancreatic Cancer UK. She first started out as a volunteer in our Donations team in 2013 and now works as a member of staff within our Supporter Care team. And we’re so pleased to share her volunteer story!

How did you get into volunteering at Pancreatic Cancer UK?

My lovely friend who used to work here asked me if I had some spare time as she was snowed under. So, I started in the Donations team one day a week back in the summer of 2013 and six months later was offered a part time job which gradually expanded, and the rest is history!

What did you enjoy the most when you first started volunteering in the Donations team?

I had previously been in a job where I worked mainly by myself, so it was really great to be part of a team again. I learnt a lot very quickly as there was only one person in the Donations team then – so the volunteering was very varied; sending out fundraising materials and letters and manually inputting Just Giving donations (which used to take ages!)

What were your volunteering highlights?

My first London Marathon cheer point! It was such an emotional day and so inspiring, it almost (but not quite) made me want to run one!

When I started volunteering there were fewer than 30 staff in the charity (and there were only 15,000 supporters on the database!!). Each time I left for the day the staff thanked me, which was unnecessary but really lovely!

Things have changed a lot since I first started at the charity as a volunteer. At the time we were based in a building in Vauxhall, fondly known as Charity Towers, where we had a tiny room in the offices belonging to the Ramblers (a walking charity)!